


Creepy Crawlies

by julie4697



Category: Dangan Ronpa
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-05
Updated: 2016-08-05
Packaged: 2018-07-29 10:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7680430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie4697/pseuds/julie4697
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fukawa misses a certain buggy friend. Komaru, being a Naegi, does her damnedest to keep her girlfriend happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Creepy Crawlies

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gradually moving all my short tumblr ficlets over here. Please read this before my fic for more clarity: http://bamboo-woods.tumblr.com/post/98806113784/kill-list-card-is-supposed-to-be-composed-of

_Out of all things, it had to be a **bug.**_ She lifted a piece of rotting wood and bit back a scream as pillbugs scattered about. _Out of any pet Touko-chan could have loved, it had to be a stinkbug._ With a sigh, Komaru straightened back up and looked dejectedly around her.

Of course, it was her who had told Touko-chan not to get attached to a bug. Bugs couldn’t love her back, bugs didn’t have feelings. And yet, when a red-and-black carrion bug had settled on the ruined remains of a schoolyard she was passing by, Komaru Naegi had had a sort of revelation–a brain wave, as Makoto called it. Kameko was undeniably an unpleasant sort of pet, but the surprisingly pretty carrion bug reminded Komaru of her own fond days when she and her brother were summer-burnt children, running around with bug nets to catch the biggest, most colorful cicadas in the neighborhood. How they had enjoyed watching their glassy wings flutter in the cage, their iridescent abdomens glisten under the sunlight! And even as they re-opened the green plastic case to let them free, Komaru could still remember the mild pang of regret at seeing them fly away, back into the wild, seemingly without any qualms about forgetting their brief encounter.

It must have been worse for Touko-chan, who, as Komaru had later learned, never had any human or otherwise mammalian friends to speak of. A stinkbug that someone had put into her shoe locker as a joke became the only living thing (before her Byakuya-sama) that she had attached herself to, and while Komaru had reprimanded her, along with Yasuhiro-san, at loving a bug too much, it wasn’t as if Komaru didn’t understand her at all. In fact, the few weeks she had spent together with her had deepened the understanding.

Which was why she was slaving away under the hot July sun instead of watching the children in the cool apartment with Touko-chan.

She leaned against a building, shading herself and wiping away the sweat that had beaded on her forehead. Bug-catching was terrible work–she momentarily felt respect for the unknown perpetrator that had introduced Kameko into Touko-chan’s locker in the first place. They were either too fast and scary, or she was too slow and squeamish, but either way Komaru had been at it for over an hour and still no luck. Perhaps a net might have helped, but there wasn’t any to be found among the ruined shops nearby, so all she had at her disposal was a wide-mouthed glass jar that had once been used for mayonnaise. 

Komaru sighed. There weren’t even any proper bugs to be caught around here, anyway. Apart from the occasional flies and carrion bugs (and pillbugs, she thought with a shudder), there really wasn’t any insect that roamed the post-apocalyptic ruins, let alone be considered an adequate gift in said post-apocalypse.

“Kameko number two, where are you-?”

She walked away from the concrete wall she had been leaning on, and was about to look elsewhere, when a sparkle in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A large black beetle was crawling laboriously over a weed, its curved back bobbing up and down as the sunlight made it shine.

Komaru’s eyes shone with it.

“Gotcha!”

The mayo jar now held a freshly-scooped-up stag beetle, struggling against the glass panes as a satisfied Komaru held it in her arms. _Not a stinkbug, but maybe better,_ she thought. Stag beetles didn’t emit a nasty odor, and they looked nicer too, at least to her eyes. She admired the strong pincers that emerged from the head of the insect like two horns, and pictured Kotoko’s pink hairband. Come to think of it, Touko-chan had seemed rather fond of Kotoko, above the other kids. Yes, Komaru thought with a smile, this would be a great gift.

—-

“It’s not Kameko.”

“Yes, but-”

“That is not my Kameko.”

Komaru recoiled as her writer friend glared at her from her desk. “ _My_ Kameko is a stinkbug. That… _thing_ …is a beetle. Or are you too dumb to tell the difference?" 

"B-but Touko-chan! I’m sure Beetle-kun would be just as great a friend as Kameko! In fact, even better! Beetles live longer than stinkbugs, and-” Actually, Komaru had no idea if beetles lived longer than stinkbugs, but at that point she would have said anything to appease her furious friend, who was now almost shaking with rage.

“You do **_NOT UNDERSTAND!_** Kameko was _special_ , you see? She was the only thing around me that was anything like me! We both…stank…and she was a miserable unloved bug, just like me…nnnnnnnnghh!” Fukawa grabbed her hair in frustration. “And you dare offer me a flimsy substitute?”

“Touko-chan! I’m sure you and Beetle-kun have much in common too!” Komaru fumbled. “I mean, both of you are hard on the outside! And both of you are born in spring, and don’t like dark areas, and-” She stopped as Fukawa’s rage became palpable waves that radiated around her. “Wh-what I mean to say is! P-please give Beetle-kun a chance! I worked so hard to catch him! And I’m sure he’ll be a good friend!” Komaru attempted a meek smile.

A growl, then a sigh. “I can’t believe you _wasted_ …all that time…for a _bug_ …” Fukawa set the jar with Beetle-kun on her desk with a gentle _clack_. “And stop assuming it’s a boy! Don’t force your stupid ideas on me! This is definitely a girl.”

She stared at it for a few seconds, during which Komaru ventured to ask, “D-do you know what she eats, Touko-chan?”

“Are you telling me you brought me this without even knowing what it eats??!! Typical,” Fukawa growled, “I didn’t expect as much from _you_.” Then she studied the bug as it crawled on the bare glass floor of its cage. “First, we’ll need some plastic wrap,” she said, in a quieter tone. “Poke holes in it so she can breathe. There’s some in the kitchen downstairs, so that’ll do." 

"O-okay! What next? I mean, you have more experience in raising bugs than I do, so I’m guessing you’re the expert!”

“Are you trying to imply that I’m some kind of bug girl? Heh, not likely! I just remember what I did with Kameko, that’s all.” The bug was now trying to crawl up the walls. “We’ll need to gather some leaves and twigs, too, to make her feel at home. I…don’t want her to feel like she doesn’t belong.” Fukawa seemed thoughtful now, almost wistful. “If she’s staying with me, that’s the last thing I want.”

Komaru couldn’t help but put a gentle hand on her friend’s shoulder. “I’ll gather those up for you. I don’t want her to be lonely either.” She smiled at Fukawa. “So I guess that means she  _is_ staying, right?”

“Hmph!” Fukawa tossed her head haughtily. “I won’t let her die, I’m not some horrible demonic monster.” She unscrewed the jar a little. The bug was now sitting placidly in its cell, seemingly unconcerned with further plans of escape. “Also, I think I read somewhere that beetles like fruit and leaves, so if Komaru gets hungry, I could try giving her those.”

“W-wait! Komaru…? You don’t mean…?”

“Of _course_ I’m naming her after you, you dimwit! I couldn’t name her Kameko, could I? _Nothing_ could replace her!” The glare was back. “He-he-he, imagine having the same name as a _bug_ …”

“H-hold on! Then how would I know which one you were referring to?”

“I didn’t even know there was a difference?" 


End file.
